SPICE magazine, Summer 2010

Photo: Jennifer Susanto-Lee

Little Fish, Big Pool

Neil Perry, that doyenne of chefdom, TV cooking show favourite and Iron Chef contender, is poorly. He blames his kids.

“They’re always sick,” he says with a wry smile.

“In the mornings I no longer give them a kiss. I put out my hand and they get to kiss that instead. I just can’t afford to be ill these days.”

Too right. With a string of eateries spreading along the Eastern seaboard, television appearances and a long list of books, Neil Perry needs all the strength he can muster.

And, of course, he’s coming to Perth. Ever since the June announcement that he would be opening a Rockpool Bar & Grill at the Burswood complex in early 2011, there has been a buzz that is only gaining in intensity as this year draws to a close.

“When you first land in Perth, you really notice that the light is very different over here,” says Neil.

“It’s really quite beautiful, and when you go down to the South-West it’s just an extraordinary place. And I haven’t been up North before so I look forward to traveling up there.”

Neil has visited Western Australia before, but never so much as he has over the past few months, when he’s been sourcing local staff and suppliers for the new eatery. Despite some of Neil’s mainstay menu items, such as his much-feted wagyu burger, being sourced from the Eastern states, much of what the Perth kitchen will be sending out will be local.

“Out of the entire menu we’ll bring over our 36 month grass-fed beef from Tasmania, and David Blackmore’s wagyu beef (in Victoria) because we buy whole bodies and they really are quite unique to the Rockpool Bar & Grill brand,” says Neil.

“But we will be sourcing our yearling out of the South-West here in Western Australia from Della Gola Farm, and we are really excited about that. We tasted some of it and we thought it was great. We’ll be dry-ageing that for about forty to fifty days and we’ll be doing ribs and T-bones and sirloin from them. And that will complete the three – we only ever carry three types of beef.”

When hunting down a good yearling producer, Neil’s top priorities were that the animals had to be grass-fed and that the taste of the meat when dry-aged met Neil’s exacting standards. Family-run, Della Gola Farm came highly recommended by Neil’s good buddy Vince Garreffa from Mondo Butchers, and when put to the test the meat did not disappoint, with Neil describing it as being sweet and tender with the long clean flavour of grass.

As for the restaurant’s lamb and pork, that continues to be a work-in-progress.

“We’re speaking to (Margaret River farmer) David Hohnen at the moment and looking at his lamb and his pork, and the difficulty there is just getting the volume because he’s such a small producer. So we’ve sort of talked him around and I think he’s going to do it with us, so we’ll buy his pigs and his lamb. And we’re really excited about both those products, they’re fantastic. All grass-fed and all free-range. The pork is just incredible.”

As with all of Perry’s produce, freshness and sustainability is paramount. And despite being better known as a steakhouse, the Rockpool chain has received a string of accolades for their seafood in recent months. The plan is that the fish on the Perth menu will be sourced locally, dry filleted daily and flat-packed, then stored in custom-made service fridges.

“We’re a big supporter of sustainability and line-catching,” says Neil.

“So we’ll have a chat to some small fishermen and Government bodies over here and see what fish are currently sustainable. There’s a few local fishermen, such as Jim Mendolia, who have shown interest in hand-lining some fish direct for us because we have our own fish filleting. And also with the complete understanding that we’re really quite keen to take whatever they catch, rather than ask them to target certain species. We need to utilise every kilo of fish that comes up over the side, not only that typical attractive white-fleshed, mild-tasting fish that we’re all kind of addicted to. And we love octopus and squid, so if that’s in abundance over here we’ll certainly be using it.”

Western Australian wine producers will naturally get a look-in, with many local wineries such as Leeuwin, Cullen, Moss Wood and Xanadu already featuring on the wine lists in the Sydney and Melbourne restaurants.

“We’ll focus really strongly on local Western Australian wines because we recognise that you guys are great producers of wine”, says Neil.

The restaurant itself is going to be big – a 200-plus seater that will incorporate a bar with private dining facilities that will live where the former food court in the Burswood complex used to be. Construction is currently underway.

“Regarding the design, we reflected on the beautiful light and the naturalness of Perth,” he said.

“So there’s a really raw kind of feel to the restaurant. Some of the curtains are made of raw hessian and there are beautiful timber floors and a wonderful nickel canopy that runs along the whole kitchen and bar side of the restaurant. And then when you look into the open kitchen it will be quite extraordinary. It’s the best kitchen that I’ve got actually because it’s all on one level. And at one end is the chef’s desk, and on top of that is our communication tool that we use for all of the Bar & Grills. So whether I’m here or in Melbourne or in Sydney I’ll be able to see the pass in Perth and all the food coming up and being run out. I actually get to see all the restaurants and how they run.”

But not everything will be locally produced.

“All our restaurants have the same chairs, because we’ve got the greatest chairs to sit on,” Neil says with a laugh.

“So why would we change that?

“I think what will be most significant about the Perth restaurant is the focus on Western Australian wines and produce. I also think people will recognise that we’ve done a bar and grill that very much belongs to Perth and isn’t a cookie-cutter of Melbourne or Sydney”.

Rockpool Bar & Grill will open at the Burswood Entertainment complex in January 2011.

SPICE magazine, Spring 2010

images: Jenny Susanto-Lee

 

Giving A Fig

Genesis in the Hills is a vegetarian hideaway hotspot doing brisk trade in Roleystone. It sits on the same road that leads into Araluen, and lots of pretty adjectives spring to mind while following its path: tranquil, natural, healthy, abundant. All the same words, really, that apply to the eatery. Genesis literally translates to mean ‘coming into being’ or, as Rivka Cohen - one half of Genesis - puts it, “the infinity of possibility”.

“We chose the name Genesis because it is from the Hebrew language, and ‘Genesis’ in Hebrew means ‘the beginning of creative potential’,” she says.

“It’s the beginning of things, where potential is brought to life. It is a very, very big word in Hebrew.”

Ably commandeered by Rivka, Genesis’s cook, and her musically gifted big sister Ita Goldberger-Amran, the restaurant has been running since September 2007 and proved to be a massive hit with locals. But the rest of Perth is quickly catching on.

“We have people coming from everywhere now, from Fremantle to Joondalup,” says Ita.

Formerly an artist’s dwelling, the gorgeous nine acre site caught the sisters’ eye in December 2003 and they decided to escape the city to embark on a tree-change journey. It took two years to plan and store the property. They renovated the house, which Ita had been living in, into a restaurant, and then built another house, being were ever-mindful to retain the peace and tranquility of the area.

“We decided to move to Roleystone because it is extremely pretty,” says Rivka.

“There’s lots of nature, lots of orchards and also a strong sense of community, which I really missed in City Beach, where I was living before. And I wanted to have contact with people. There is lots of variety – artists, creative people, just a beautiful mixture of people. Roleystone is the right place for us”.

The sisters moved from Israel to Perth ten years ago after the sisters were at a personal crossroads, and they emigrated to Australia in search of peace and a better quality of life. Rivka decided that it was more than just her address that needed a tweak.

“I was once an economist, and then I was a Maths teacher for a while,” she says.

“But I always had a great passion for cooking and baking, and then when we came to Australia I thought it was time for a change. So I opened a little vegetarian restaurant in Subiaco, which was called Bay Tree Café. I ran it for two and a half years, and it was actually quite successful. Then I sold it because I wanted to change my life again, to make it more peaceful. I bought my piece of land in Roleystone, where I could grow my own stuff. We’re basically really alive with nature now.”

Growing up in a semi-rural village in Israel, where their father ran a vineyard, the two women were privy to enormous cultural influences from their family. They had a Turkish grandfather, a Spanish grandmother, and their mother was born in Bulgaria. Their father was a baker from central Europe, with a Hungarian and Czechoslovakian background. The family table was a place for lively discussion, with languages jumping between Bulgarian, Jewish-Spanish-Latino, Hungarian, Russian and Yiddish.

“And outside in the street it was Hebrew,” recalls Ita.

“The neighbours were all Holocaust survivors who ended up in Israel after the war, so everybody spoke another language, and the children were all in and out of each other’s houses influencing each other.”

With such an eclectic history, it was only natural that the sisters would go on to be profoundly affected by their upbringing. But it is the food they were raised on as children that they seem to remember most fondly.

“Oh gosh, the food we ate as a child!” laughs Ita.

“My favourite dishes from my mother were her different aubergine dishes that she got from Bulgaria. People call it baba ganoush. And her cakes, of course. Her cakes were notorious. Everybody came to eat them. School was only two hundred metres from where we lived, so everybody would ask, ‘Oh, can we come to your house to see what cakes your mother has baked?’ So during the breaks we would all go to my mother’s kitchen, eat her cake and then go back to school. It was so wonderful.”

“My food influences definitely come from my family, and I do Mediterranean and lots of Arab cooking,” says Rivka.

“Lots of my influences come from the use of tahini and hommus, which are Arab ingredients, and broad beans and spices and herbs. And with Mediterranean cooking, it’s all about using a lot of fresh seasonal ingredients. You can’t compromise it, really.

“My Mum is a beautiful cook, she actually just celebrated her 80th birthday. She immigrated with our families here. Mum is from the Balkan area in Bulgaria, and there are lots of things I’ve learned from her. She is very much into what is called the philosophy of how you work, what you do, and how you cook. She showed me how to work locally, work with local produce, and work seasonally. Trying to make food as fresh and as healthy as you can”.

Food is abundant in this neck of the woods, with the property being home to a good-sized herb garden and an orchard of around sixty fruit trees. There is an impressive chicken pen containing forty laying hens, who are all very grateful for the restaurant’s leftovers. And what the property does not provide, the local community does.

“With the produce that we have access to, the possibilities and the flavours of vegetarian food are just as endless as non-vegetarian food,” says Rivka.

“For example, I’ve got a huge amount of figs in the area. So in the times of the figs I do millions of things with them. I stuff them with cheese. I make cakes. I make pies. I make jams. There is a local Italian lady who takes them, cuts them in the middle and dries them, and they are the most delicious figs ever. And then we have a beautiful orchard of chestnuts. So I make chestnut cakes and chestnut cream. It’s really important to explain the contribution of these things to the flavours of dishes. We work very much by what we actually find in the season, the seasons completely inspire me. Many people don’t know what to do with produce such as figs, quince and pomegranates. So they just bring it in. So we have a lot of cooperation with the local people. For me, Genesis is not just a business. It’s a way of life.”

The neighborhood is of paramount importance to the pair, who believe Genesis is less of a restaurant than a haven for the community. Rivka sources much of the restaurant’s produce from the surrounding area, such as oils, bread, milk, cheese and coffee. Local art exhibitions are held at the property once a month, as are jazz nights featuring local musicians.

“We buy locally, we share, we give the place to local people to sell their produce,” says Rivka.
“We sell honey, we sell flowers, and all kinds of food without taking any commission. In a way it’s symmetry. The community aspect of Genesis is very important to me.”

However, what you notice most about the remarkable duo is their passion, which seems to drive everything that they do. The beautiful aspect of their property, which they also live on with their families, the warm reception they have received from the residents of Roleystone and their deeply-held set of beliefs are what keep these two women motivated.

“I believe it’s a very natural way of growing up, with neighbors and community that are very, very close to each other,” says Ita.

“And that’s how we feel in Roleystone. We are very involved with the community, not only in food, but our place has become a meeting place for people to come and talk. It’s a way of living. That it’s not only about you and your family, but that there is a bigger picture. That’s how we grew up, so that’s who we are.”

“It’s all about living consciously,” emphasises Rivka.

“You try to make your life worth living, not only in the sense that you live but with what contribution you’ve made. I feel I’ve contributed by producing good food, which I’m happy with.” Genesis in the Hills is at 124 Croyden Road Roleystone. For bookings and more information, telephone 9397 7799 or go to

-->www.genesisinthehills.com.au.

SPICE magazine: Autumn 2010. One for the Kids

John Martin and his wife Miriam are on a personal mission that spans more than twenty years. The couple are passionate about self-sustainability and have applied the principles of permaculture to nurture and build their Swan Valley property, Caprino Goat Farm, literally from the ground up.

"We moved to the farm in 1986 and back then it was pretty much a bare, useless piece of ground,” recalls John.

"The neighbours all laughed at us when we said we were going to run a goat dairy here. They didn’t know how we were going to survive on this particular block as it wouldn’t grow anything. The land was basically wasteland when we bought it. It was desolate, a desert. We brought three cows, twelve goats and some chickens with us when we moved in. A week after we arrived we were down to two goats, no cows and no chickens. We brought in loads of organic matter and introduced it to the soil. It was a lot of hard work. It has now reached a point where it’s absolutely self-sustaining. It just seemed like the right way, to feed the soil rather than to fight against it.”

But for the couple, the farm wasn’t just about going green. It was also borne out of love for their children who, at a young age, were afflicted with asthma and terrible allergies due to their intolerance to cow’s milk.

“The farm all started from our personal experience,” says John.

“I’m lactose intolerant, and so are our two children. They would have an asthma attack if they had any cow’s milk products. That’s how we started it”.

It wasn’t too long before the word had spread about the healing benefits of their goat’s milk.

"Parents started to knock on our doors asking for the goat’s products because they had children who suffered from asthma, eczema and other allergy problems because they couldn’t tolerate cow’s milk products. But we simply couldn’t sell it to them. We had to say no as it was illegal for us to sell back in those days. But then they’d come back with their children, who were covered in red, itchy sores. It was heartbreaking because I knew I could make it go away. So it was pretty much impossible to say no.

“Then the health department showed up to test our products, which tested safe. So now we stick to their testing regime and we can sell legally.”

Nowadays, the farm is home to around forty beautiful white Saanen milking goats, as well as an Anglo Nubian and a British Alpine. John is hoping to introduce a Toggenburg into the fold this year to make up his dairy goat quadrella. There are also six bucks and twenty cute kids. But having 60-plus goats roaming his property hasn’t stopped John from naming them all. Where to start?

“There is an Australian branding code that is released each year, and each year there’s a different code,” explains John.

”So we use that code to name all our goats. For instance, last year the code for 2009 started with ‘E’, so all the goats’ names started with ‘E’. That lets us know the year the goat was born.”

Goat milk is arguably one of the most consumed milks in the world. An estimated 4.8 million tonne of goat milk is produced worldwide.

“Goats are probably the oldest domesticated animal in the world,” says John.

“If you go back in the Bible, it makes mention of them back in Genesis. The ancient Egyptians used them for milk as well. It just shows you how long they’ve been around with man.”

As well as being widely consumed, goat’s milk is also known as being the closest to breast milk than any other food. Recent studies have suggested it can help prevent anaemia and bone demineralisation. It’s also easier to digest than cow’s milk, making it suitable for some lactose-intolerant groups.

“There’s zero cholesterol in goat’s milk and it doesn’t need to be homogenised because there are no fat globules, they don’t need to be broken down. It’s already digestible.

The farm sell their goat’s milk and natural yoghurt direct from the farm to the public, as well as to small suppliers, such as The Greenhouse restaurant in Perth.

Matt Stone, head chef at The Greenhouse, makes curd out of the milk he buys from Caprino’s, and he’s soon to enlist John to teach his kitchen how to make cheese.

“We use John’s milk to make yoghurt, and once we eventually get a Pacojet we’ll be making goat’s milk ice-cream and sorbets,” says Matt.

“After we’ve done the cheese-making course we’ll use the goat’s cheese on pizzas and in salads.”

For John and Miriam however, it’s all about the kids.

“Because we are a very small operator, we try to keep our prices low so that the people who need them can afford to buy them. Our focus has always been on young children who need it as opposed to people who buy it as a lifestyle choice. It’s not about the money. It’s not about making a million dollars. It’s about supplying a product that children out there need and their parents can afford. That’s what it’s always been for us.”

SPICE magazine: Autumn 2010. Kid-friendly eateries

In these halcyon days of fine dining, sometimes us parents get a little lost in all the swank. But having kids doesn’t necessarily mean you have to eat at home for the next twenty years. Fast-food outlets aside, there are a number of family-friendly restaurants around town that make eating out with the kids less of a hassle. Heck, you might even start to enjoy yourself.

Walter’s River Café

This is such a beautiful spot. Nab yourself a table next to the playground, which includes a separate kids’ access ramp, and sit back to enjoy the view. No, not of the kids, of the river. The children’s lunch menu is excellent, with nary a frozen chicken nugget in sight. There’s mini bacon and egg pies, roast tomato noodle soup with toast stars, chicken salad and kids’ bagels (all $12). Coloured pencils and paper add to the fun. There’s even homemade lemonade.

Typically however, our young brood went with what they knew. The kids’ fish and chips were excellent, with a ‘proper’ fish fillet that had been fried in clean oil and a terrific tartare sauce made in-house. The burger was good, although more suited to a teenager than a pre-schooler in its enormity.

Grown-up food included a rather bland special of prosciutto-wrapped salmon on a bed of chickpeas ($30), a ripper tagliatelle with scallops, chorizo, tomato and spinach ($26) and a generous club sandwich with chips ($24).

A special mention goes to the young waiters who responded to our chaos with smiles and patience.

Point Walter Reserve (off Honor Avenue or Burke Drive), Bicton. Tel: 9330 9330

Ninniku Jip

Ninniku Jip is one of those little suburban joints that has collected a whole lot of different ideas, thrown them into the pot and served them up without tasting the results first. The adult menu included such combinations as mussels Kilpatrick ($12.30), kimchi spaghetti bolognese ($21.50) and Japanese rice with fried egg and Napoletana sauce ($16.60). So we played it safe and opted for a very fresh seafood kway teow ($15.80) and generous beef fried rice ($13.60).

The kids’ menu had the obligatory chicken nuggets, which were served with either rice or chips. There was also fried rice and stir-fried egg noodles with chicken. Our little one opted for the excellent honey soy chicken with rice, which was scoffed down in a few minutes flat, although the veggies were shunted disapprovingly aside. All of the kids’ dishes are $7.50, or $10 with ice-cream, and child-sized crockery and cutlery are provided.

The best bit about this place is that it has a sizeable indoor playground. There’s a playgym, a big plasma telly screening children’s popular movies and an X-box and PlayStation for the older kids. They can run and scream their little hearts out, then settle down for a nice meal with the family. Well, I’m sure that’s the idea anyway.

Ninniku Jip, 867 Albany Highway, East Victoria Park. Tel 9355 1988

Cater 4 Kids - The Como

Cater 4 Kids is a free children’s entertainment service that calls on various restaurants around town every day of the week, giving Mum and Dad a chance to actually enjoy their meal. It was The Como’s turn on Tuesday, so we gave it a burl.

While we marveled at our ability to finish a conversation, two friendly young girls supervised our little one in a corner of the room while he painted, glued and drew his way into craft heaven. Also on offer was face and hand painting, jigsaw puzzles, books and computer games for the older kids. And all for free.

The Como kids’ menu is fairly run-of-the-mill, although the kids’ nuggets were shaped as little Aussie icons and there was a good-looking steak with whipped potatoes and jus. Meals are all $9.50, including a (gasp) soft drink. The little man opted for the macaroni cheese, which he nibbled at before bolting back to the art table. Hmm. No matter, he returned after we’d finished our meals and inhaled the rest of it.

The adult menu has a definite bush theme. Although greatly tempted by the Yakkajirri lamb salad ($25.90), in the end I couldn’t say no to the wattleseed kangaroo served with crème fraiche and parsnip whipped potatoes, enoki mushrooms and bush tomato chutney ($26.50). The menu is much improved from the last time we visited.

At the end of the night, our little one was happy to leave with his swag of artwork and two painted hands. Good times all round.

The Como, 241 Canning Highway, Canning. Tel 9367 6666

Also worth a stop..

The Boatshed, South Perth

Zephyr Café, East Fremantle

More family frolics..

Coffee + kids + playground: http://www.acoffeeinthepark.com/south-perth-foreshore

Dinner + kids + activities: http://cater4kids.com.au/category/restaurants/1

SPICE magazine: Summer 2009

Restaurant Reviews: New Order

It's always tough to know how long a new restaurant might take to iron out the wrinkles. Some take a week, or two, some a couple of months. Some never do. Not one to enjoy throwing good money away at bad food, I prayed the new crop had hit its straps by the time I paid them a visit.

The Silver Spoon

Stepping into The Silver Spoon is like entering a giant glittering Christmas bauble - it's a very shiny space to be in. With the bi-fold doors wide open on a chilly Spring evening, we went for the warm and hearty sounding charcuterie sharing plate ($26) for a starter. It was generous and beautifully presented - dollops of olive tapenade and apple chutney balanced the assorted meat parfaits and rillettes out nicely, although the terrine needed more zing. Fortified by a protein overload, we soldiered on with mains. The crab with squid ink linguini ($26) was, according to my BFF, "mushy", but my Asian-influenced snapper in a tomato, chilli and lime broth ($35) hit the mark with its much-needed shot of warmth. To round it all off we went with a delicate white chocolate pannacotta and peach compote ($10), and a solid brick of date and pecan pudding with toffee sauce ($10) for dessert, which were both good. The prices are reasonable, the wine list is long and, judging by the crowd, the up-market presence is much appreciated in this neck of the woods.

The Cabin Winebar & Bistro

Much ado has been made about The Cabin since it opened its doors earlier this year, and fair enough too. It's a chic little fit-out that has the look and feel of a snowed-in hunting lodge, with modern touches added to prevent it from becoming too kitsch. The lunch menu is small and meaty, and beef cheeks aside, I couldn't go past a duck three-way ($18). The pate was excellent, and so fine it could practically have been re-listed as a duck dip if it had not held its form so well. I was ever-grateful for the carrot batons presented to me in lieu of baked goods thanks to my pesky new gluten intolerance. the slow-roasted duck was meltingly tender, although the pan-fried duck was a little on the dry side. The suggested side of Welsh rarebit and portobello mushrooms ($7) went swimmingly well with the whole ensemble. The wine list is a round-the-world experience, with a dazzling variety of wines by the glass. A return visit in the evening will be in order, if only to try the game-laden 'Hunter' tasting platter on the tapas menu.

Azure Restaurant

Azure has such a calm, cleansing feel about it that I felt I should be donning a robe in preparation for a massage. It is an oasis of tranquility. The menu has an Italian base and the enormous display of desserts is made entirely in-house. We had a small person in tow so could not meld into the experience entirely, but the kitchen took stock of our situation and plated up in short order. The porcini mushroom risotto ($34 for main) was a generous serve with good bite, although the baby chargrilled octopus in the salad ($19.50 tasted undercooked. Pork belly with alternating morsels of scallop and swooshes of pear dressing and jus ($32.50) was excellent - the pork was soft and tender, with layers of fat and crackling perfectly cooked. For dessert we shared a spectacular chocolate Black Forest dome ($12.50) that housed a rich mousse of white chocolate and cherries, all perched in a chocolate basket. Nyom.

Palais 85

Formerly The Oyster Bar, Palais 85 has been turned into a beautiful, opulent space with padded flocked chairs and sofas, chandeliers and vast swathes of silk suspended from the ceiling. Perfect for an intimate soiree. I was surprised that, on a Saturday night, it wasn't busier. Our group started with large, creamy oysters served with a piquant marsala aioli ($16 for half a dozen). Marron salad with tabouli $28) was neither here nor there, as was the goat's cheese salad ($28.50). The venison on potato cake ($38.50), served medium rare, was exquisitely tender, although the pile of accompanying chopped raw onion was completely bewildering. Desserts consisted of a delicious tasting plate of rich chocolate mousse, Indian pistachio kulfi ice cream and flourless orange cake ($18), while the pannacotta ($13) was a bit of a let-down with no evidence of the promised vanilla bean. Despite having to wait forever for somebody to notice our empty glasses, the service was professional and knowledgeable.

SPICE magazine: Spring 2009. Grainaissance Bakers

Slow Dough


Local masters of the slow art of artisan baking kicked buns and cleaned the floor at Melbourne's Australian Artisan Baking Cup.

Way before it sped up and became industrialised, way before any strains of wheat and gluten intolerance raised their unwelcome heads, bread used to be made slowly. Artisan bread is made with a gentle hand, employing traditional methods and natural ingredients, and allowing for lots and lots of time for the culture to do its own thing. The ingredients are basic, and simply by tweaking fundamental techniques such as fermentation, time and baking, a whole raft of different types of breads can be produced.

Rob Howard is the owner of 'Grainaissance Artisan Bakers' in Osborne Park. Unlike many bakers, they're a wholesale outlet whose bread can be found on menus at eateries around Perth, including Bistro Felix, Beaufort Street Merchant and Caffe Peckish.

Rob is a staunch advocate of artisan baking. After spending half of his childhood in the kitchen, he began work as an apprentice chef at the age of fifteen before moving on to pastry cooking. But after discovering the many living permutations of sourdough ten years ago, he eventually turned his hand to artisan baking.

"Sourdough is fascinating because you are dealing with something that is alive, that you can control," says Rob.

"It uses no commercial yeasts, just natural culture. You need to look after it, feed it and care for it on a daily basis. It's really not like any other food. There are no additives put into it to save time and money. When I first discovered it I did a lot of experimenting until I had created my own sourdough formula using a combination of malt flour, honey, wheat flour and slow fermentation. It grew and grew, and we started making bread from it after the third week".

But there were a few hiccups in the embryonic stages, and that is when fellow artisan baker Leon Bailey entered his life.

"I had some trouble with the first few batches and there weren't many people in Perth making sourdough to talk to about it. I had read a few of Leon's articles in 'Leading Edge' baking magazine, so I contacted him. He was very helpful, and we stayed in touch".

The Melbourne-based Australian Artisan Baking Cup, which has been running for three years now, was the brainchild of Leon Bailey, who modeled the Australian version on international baking competitions such as Italy's SIGEP, in which Australia came second in the bread baking section this year. It's an enormous coup. Leon's dream is to end a team to the creme de la creme of baking championships, Paris' La Coupe du Monde Boulangerie, which is held every three years.

This year, along with his colleague Trevor Sims, Rob was the 2009 winner of the Australian Artisan Baking Cup competition, thanks to his winning interpretation of the Ettamogah Pub as an artistic (and entirely edible) centrepiece. Rob also took home wining trophies for his ciabatta and two of his baguettes, while Trevor won trophies for his croissant, Danish and stollen.

"It was pretty embarrassing actually," recalls Rob over the multiple wins.

"There we were, two blokes from Western Australia, and a table loaded with trophies. I think we had about nine between us in the end".

The Cup's competitiveness is becoming increasingly fierce as each year passes. This year there were 25 competitors from all States, including Sydney-based pastry wizard, Adriano Zumbo of MasterChef fame. The judging is stringent, and time restrictions must be adhered to.

"We had one hour the day before to prepare our ferments, which we had to fly over to Melbourne in a bottle," says Rob.

"And then when we competed we started at 6am, with tools down at 2pm, which included cleaning up and preparing the tables for judging. We were meant to have three people in our team and we were one person short, so Trevor and I had to work extra hard".

As if that wasn't taxing enough, the duo will be heading over to Italy in January for the SIGEP competitions, and this time they'll be taking a teammate, Dean Gibson.

"It's going to be fantastic, although we're going to be so busy. It's already late in the year and the team needs to practice together a certain amount of times before we go. So it will be pretty crazy between now and January".

Spice magazine: Spring 2009. Tapas reviews

Restaurant Reviews: Tapas the Test

Roll up to any self-respecting wine bar in Perth these days and you're guaranteed to find tapas of some description on the menu. For the uninitiated, tapas are small tasting plates that have their origins in Spain and are now all the go. Better still, tapas are suited to all types of pockets because of their varied prices. So considerate in this bleak economic era. It was time to dig a little deeper.

Andaluz Bar

Andaluz is a beautiful space with beautiful food, yet I sat there feeling a tad perplexed. There were rich, inviting Chesterfield lounges cosying up to an open fireplace. There was nouvelle cuisine-style tapas fare, and there was Aretha Franklin singing her lungs out on the sound system. Los Gentlemen's Soul Club? Heterogenous styling out of the way, the only sore point remaining was that we didn't get to score one of the opulent booths tucked away in their own little niches.

The tapas dishes we chose were sublime. They were sophisticated and complex with long, mouthwatering descriptions, which always bode well with me. We chose four dishes, starting with a tortilla Espanola ($8) - thick cubes of potato topped with fried egg, which was good and hearty. Chargrilled asparagus, quail's egg and tarragon aioli ($9) followed, with the asparagus spears blanched and quickly grilled and the itty-bitty quail's egg gently salted and semi-hard boiled. The tarragon aioli was subtle and tangy, making it a beautifully light dish. Next up were twin towers of seared scallop atop a Berkshire pork cheek confit, with an exquisite sauce of Alvear PX wine and muscatels ($9.50). Our last dish was eight hour braised venison and creamed portobello mushroom empanadillas ($9.50). All excellent value, considering the amount of time and love that clearly goes into each dish. Yum.

Lamont's Wine Store

Kate's latest offering is Lamont's in Cottesloe, and it has already become a Mecca for the local well-heeled pashima set. Naturally the emphasis is going to be on the wines, with a staggering 250 varieties offered on a rotating basis, but the tapas menu, although more Australian than Spanish, does well to keep its end up. The marron dusted with pepper and garlic dust $15.50) was a big hit at our table, as was the cod croquette ($10.50), but I couldn't quite get past the price of a solitary scallop - $7.50 - no matter how succulent it was. Despite not getting much bank for our buck, the dishes were exquisite and, as with all of Kate's food, well-balanced in the flavour and artistic departments. Although I have to admit, the jewel-like macaroons flown in from Paris (see above pic) were my personal faves.

The Imp Cafe & Bar

Being a stone's throw from my house, I quite badly wanted to like this place. It throbbed to a Melbourne beat and was always pumping when I passed by. Alas things are not always as they seem.

The proffered olive is like the proffered water: you tend to assume it's gratis. When said olives were offered while I waited for my friend, I made the same sad presumption and got nailed $7 at the end of the night. A bit, dare I say, impish. Mind you, on arrival it was the size of a small tureen. Anyway. When my friend arrived ("What's with all the olives?!") we ordered crocodile cakes with yoghurt (4 for $12), beef and pork gyoza with an Asian dressing (4 for $12) and a warm lentil salad with coppa ($11).

The croc cakes sounded more exciting than they actually were and, other than the occasional Thai kick of lemongrass, were simply too bland while the accompanying minted yoghurt seemed to be sans mint. The warm lentil salad was a major hit - generous and perfect for a chilly winter's eve, with the coppa mixed through it giving it a real lift. A perfect combo. The gyoza were too strong - the tiny parcel of meat was far too spiced, which my heartburn thanked it for.

But all is not lost, there are several big ticks for The Imp too. Everything on the menu is made in-house and there are lots of gluten-free and vegan dishes on offer. The atmosphere is lovely and inviting. Brekkies are big 'n hearty. So are desserts.

Pata Negra

Star Anise's David Coomer has finally been able to fling open the doors to his new venture. David's former sous chef, Matt Stone, spent time in Spain last year checking out the local tapas fare and the menu is as about as authentic as it gets.

Along with the rest of Perth's foodaphiles, we had nabbed ourselves a table barely before the black wall paint had dried. We were given complimentary olives (ahem) and sampled the beautiful hand-packaged smoked almonds. The house-smoked octopus 'escabeche' (pickled marinade) ($14.50) was next, a slow-cooked delight that had been pickled in a Forum cabernet vinegar and dished up in a cute preserving jar. The jamon iberico, variously imported from Spain and local sourced, was sublime. And at $300 a kilo - hello - so it should be. The mussels, Manzanilla and jamon ($16.50) were also a winner, with surf and turf fighting for supremacy in a preserved lemon-laced broth. For mains we went with the Pata Negra fabada (stew) - ham hock, duck confit, chorizo and lentils ($36 for two). Pata Negra's food has a distinct Moorish theme running through it, and this dish was a great example of those strong, Arabic flavours.

The flavours at Pata Negra are big and gutsy, just what you'd expect from a Spanish pintxo. Add a glass of Marques de Riscal and you could be in Barcelona.

SPICE magazine: Winter 2009

Restaurant Reviews: Sashimi

Sashimi is such a polarizing food. People either harbor a life-long addiction to its clean, subtle flavours or gag at the mere idea of sitting down to a plateful of uncooked ocean fare. Sashimi typically consists of really fresh raw fish, sliced thick or thin, served with soy sauce, a smidge of wasabi and the occasional pile of white radish. In Australia, the most popular varieties include salmon, tuna, kingfish and octopus. The key to good quality sashimi-grade fish is that it has little to no ‘fishy’ smell or taste, which indicates the beginning of spoilage. That was what was to be my litmus test in the search for ‘best quality’ sashimi…


Hayashi
Hayashi is an old favorite of mine. It was the first Japanese restaurant I visited in Perth in fact, and we have been fans ever since. It has a sweetheart of an owner who always ensures the sashimi is good and fresh. Every second morning he trundles off to the fish market in search of fish with the clearest eyes, firmest backs and reddest gills for his sushi chef. Bless. On this latest visit, we ordered the sashimi set ($26.50). Sashimi included tuna, salmon, kingfish, scallop and octopus, which were accompanied by rice, miso soup and a Japanese salad. The salmon was creamy and firm, as you would expect in this country. Aussies are so lucky –Tasmanian salmon is arguably among the best sashimi-grade varieties in the world. It must have been good anyway: my two-year-old was gobbling it down. The tuna was brilliant - succulent and melt-in-the-mouth, while the kingfish was tender, glossy and translucent, a good indication of freshness. Great,as always.

Hayashi, 2/15 Ogilivie Road, Applecross. (08) 9316 3384


Matsuri
Matsuri is a big, glass restaurant wedged into a corner of the city’s QV1 building. Although it is undoubtedly the best-known Japanese restaurant in the CBD, I had never been there. We sat at the sushi bar hoping for a little repartee with the sushi chef but sadly there was none. Instead we gazed at the rows of pre-sliced salmon, tuna, octopus, prawn and egg roll stashed at eye-level in front of us. The medium-sized sashimi platter ($19) consisted of firm, pink tuna, octopus and a decent amount of salmon, with red cabbage and seaweed thrown in as well. Sashimi-grade tuna is generally a headache for sushi chefs – it is hard to source because it’s seasonal, and being such a large fish is almost impossible to serve fresh, which is why most restaurants need to fillet and freeze it. Practically all tuna fillets are cut from the shoulder and are varying shades of red, but the best (and rarest) comes from the fatty belly and is pale and creamy. All was good with the fish, and the earthenware crockery added a home-spun touch. Also on offer was a tantalising soft shell crab sushi roll which, disappointingly, did not come in anything smaller than eight pieces. We tried the salmon roe sushi instead, which was fresh and generous, albeit its seaweed wrapper was dry and crunchy. A fair night out, but clearly set up for the business crowd as vibe and personal service were minimal.

Matsuri, Lower level, QV1 building, 250 St Georges Terrace, Perth. (08) 9322 7737.


Ha-Lu
Ha-Lu has been open for a couple of years now, and for me it continues to hold the mantle of best Japanese in Perth. Spurning the traditional menu, Ha-Lu instead offers its customers a more social, Izakaya-style dining experience: small tapas-style servings that are shared with your buddies and have your taste buds screaming for more. Cruel, really. Their sashimi is some of the best in town, and the cuts are super-thick. A bit daunting for those new to the joys of raw fish, but a glory for those who aren’t. We had the standard salmon, tuna and kingfish (is there anything else served in Australia?) and it was top notch – firm, bright and fresh. Some of the other dishes were so delectable and out-there that they also deserve a mention. The Patagonian toothfish netsuke, aubergine with soy dashi broth and pork belly ‘Kaku-ni’ were all completely lush. By the end of the night, I think we’d ordered the whole menu.

Ha-Lu, Shop 4/401 Oxford Street, Mt Hawthorn. (08) 9444 0577


Sushi Station Fuji Japanese Restaurant
It’s been a good while since I’ve visited this little restaurant in Victoria Park, famed for its authenticity and large contingent of Japanese patrons. It closed down for a long while, and everybody thought they were renovating. But they opened again earlier in the year and the décor looks exactly the same, so who knows? Perhaps it is now under new management, because it doesn’t seem quite the same. We were a tableful of cackling women, which appeared to go against our favour as the service was entirely absent. The large sashimi platter we ordered ($25) consisted of 2-3 slices of salmon, tuna and scallop, with a disproportionate amount of kingfish. The salmon, in all its orange vivacity, was top-notch, as was the creamy scallop. The tuna was thick and rather chewy. This was definitely just-thawed shoulder tuna. The kingfish was overly fishy: I kept it to one slice. Other dishes that passed muster (just) included vegetable and seafood tempura, gyoza dumplings and beef teriyaki.

Sushi Station Fuji Japanese Restaurant, 233 Albany Highway, Victoria Park. (08) 9362 3796